The Hurricane
by intothedeep27
Summary: A former Jaeger pilot, Lori Henderson's rage was akin to a hurricane―ready to destroy anything and anyone in its path. No one could save her, not even herself. Yet...Chuck Hansen did. Out of all people to do so, he saved her by holding on. With his own anger, he gave Lori enough hope to rise up and step back into her Jaeger―because if the world was ending, she would die fighting.
1. Chapter 1

_Summary_ : A former Jaeger pilot, Lori Henderson's rage was akin to a hurricane―ready to destroy anything and anyone in its path. No one could save her, not even herself. Yet...Chuck Hansen did. Out of all people to do so, he saved her by holding on. With his own anger, he gave Lori enough hope to rise up and step back into her Jaeger―because if the world was ending, she would die fighting. OC-Insert, Chuck/OC

* * *

 **"It may be he shall take my hand  
And lead me into his dark land  
And close my eyes and quench my breath—  
It may be I shall pass him still.  
I have a rendezvous with Death  
On some scarred slope of battered hill,  
When Spring comes round again this year  
And the first meadow-flowers appear."**

 _I Have a Rendezvous with Death_ , Alan Seeger

* * *

Disclaimer: _I don't own Pacific Rim, only any original characters._

* * *

 _ **The Hurricane  
01**_ _: Rendezvous with Death_

She was thirteen on August 10th, 2013, when life as she knew it crumbled, just like her house under a Kaiju's foot.

Five days later, she was fourteen years old and was forced to come to terms that her family would never come home, that she was no longer a daughter, an older sister, a cousin. She became a child of the state of California, an orphan because her family was gone, dead, buried under fallen buildings.

On August 15th, 2013, she vowed revenge on those sons of bitches humanity would come to call Kaiju.

* * *

 **2022 – June 06  
** _Tokyo Shatterdome, Japan_

"Lori, get your dumb ass _up!_ "

Groaning, said girl turned over to see her partner of three years, Kei Takahata, glaring at her from the corner of their bed.

"Five more minutes, c'mon, you can give me that!" she complained as she tried hiding her face in her pillow.

Lori heard Kei's footsteps as they neared her and it was only a matter of seconds before he pulled the pillow away from her face and glared down at her – however, the amusement in his eyes caused her to giggle behind her hand.

Seeing that he was failing at intimidating her, he sighed before saying with a smile, "'Cmon, Marshal's waiting for us."

Lori groaned as she finally sat up, shoving a hand in her boyfriend's face as he tried giving her a kiss.  
"Take a shower, you stink," she mumbled behind a yawn.

Kei ruffled her hair as an alternative and opened the door to the bathroom, giving her a wink before closing it. A few seconds later, she heard the shower turn on and, for some reason, she found herself thinking.

Lori, at age twenty-two, was one of many Jaeger pilots stationed along the Pacific coast to protect civilians against those alien bastards. Although not the best pilot to graduate from the Academy, she was sure as hell, not the worst. With Kei as her co-pilot, the two had four confirmed Kaiju kills with only minor damages every time to their Jaeger, Midnight Insurgent.

Midnight Insurgent was _beautiful_ if anyone was to ask Lori. The tallest Jaeger built, the Mark-3 Japanese Jaeger stood at a whooping 298 feet with titanium plating and fifty diesel engines per muscle strand.

Ironically, the Jaeger itself was reminiscent of feudal Japan with its ninja-like body, it's armor having sleek black titanium plating to represent its "invisibility," and the head of the so-called body was similar to a motorcycle helmet.

Then, with twin short blades that slid out of a compartment on her hands, the Jaeger fought fast, hard, and was ruthless in the battlefield. She held a large katana, which was the main weapon of choice, that could slide out from a compartment built right along the spine. The best part of the katana was its ability to heat up – the edges of the blade, sharp enough as it was, could turn red hot to somewhat minimize the effect of kaiju blue. She was nowhere _near_ the fastest Jaeger but she _was_ the fastest Mark-3.

However, Midnight Insurgent was only as good as her pilot's, Lori Henderson and Kei Takahata.

Kei was trained at his father's karate dojo in the small town of Kawakado, Japan, from a young age. He was one of the best Karate athletes worldwide in his age group, having promise to become even the best in the world, but when he was sixteen, the first Kaiju landed in San Francisco, changing the career path that had been earlier decided for him. Two years later, he found himself in the Academy, training to protect his country, using the skills that he had grown up with to his advantage. He graduated one of the top in the Academy but, weirdly enough, could not find a partner with Drift capabilities. He struggled to find that perfect person that would allow him to finally _kill_ those aliens and after searching and searching – even going international – at age twenty, he found his partner in _her_ , Lori.

Lori Henderson was eighteen when she finally was admitted into the Academy. She had successfully hid her anger, her pain, her need for revenge from everyone, until Kei appeared in her life. He managed to break apart the armor she had created and helped her heal, helped her see that the world was not the hellhole she had believed. She was a pretty average student, not the best but not the worst, but unlike many of the graduates from the Academy, she had to opportunity to become a Jaeger Pilot right out of school, a position given only to a handful.

Their relationship did not start very well. In fact, the two could not even understand each other because of their language barrier. While Drift compatible, personality-wise, they were not compatible to the slightest. He was strict, clean, organized, and calm. She, on the other hand, was angry, aggressive, and disorganized.

Yet, one day, they found that they understood each other. She could somehow understand Japanese and he could understand English. They soon found themselves laughing together, eating together, just...being together all the time, and before they realized it, they had found themselves in each other, falling in love.

"Lori, can you get my razor?" Kei shouted out in Japanese, bringing Lori out of her thoughts, minutes later. Wiping her hand across her face, she stood up and responded, in English, "Give me a second!"

To those who could not understand the Drift, it was confusing to see them talk in two different languages, yet understand each other completely.

She quickly went to their shared closet and pulled out his razor set, but nearly dropped it when their room lit up red, the sound of an alarm blaring throughout their room.

"Midnight Insurgent, you are to report to Bay 07, Level A-39. Kaiju, codenamed Raijin, 350 miles off the coast of Tokyo Bay. Midnight Insurgent –"

The bathroom door flew open, revealing Kei with only a towel, his hair dripping with water. If they were in any other circumstances, she would have loved to ogle her boyfriend and his perfect body, but sadly, there was a Kaiju to kill.

Raising an eyebrow at her staring, she just gave him a suggestive look before grabbing their army flight suits. "...Shut up," Lori mumbled a second later, ignoring his snickering as he caught the overall she threw at him.

Five minutes later, they found themselves running through the hall, breezing past security guards and maintenance workers, as they neared their destination.

"You ready?"

"Of course I am," he muttered back, throwing in his second wink of the day. "Nothing like a Category 4 Kaiju to wake up to in the morning."

For someone who many saw as cold and stoic, when he truly opened himself up, he was quite the talker, much to her amusement.

Placing her hand on the door that would eventually lead them to their Jaeger, she kissed his cheek before mouthing at him, "Love ya."

Time was crucial and the team, in record time, managed to get Kei and Lori suited up and in their Jaeger in minutes. Despite the situation they were in, Lori grinned as she let out an excited shout. "Let's get this baby on the road!"

Kei chuckled as he began setting up the Jaeger for their Drift. "Yeah yeah, calm down Lover Girl."

"Marshal Hikai, on deck."

Over the comms, the two heard their boss saying, "Engage pilot to pilot protocol."

Immediately, their Conn-Pod lit up and the computer A.I. repeated what Marshal said and a few minutes later after the tests were performed and the Jaeger started up, without even listening they knew what would happen. "Prepare for neural handshake."

Lori, doing exactly that, steeled herself for the rush that came with the Drift. She shook the nerves from her arms and looked at Kei. He was giving her a reassuring smile, knowing exactly what she was thinking. The two stayed silent and soon after, the Drift was initiated.

Memories and thoughts rushed throughout her mind.

 _Mom, Dad, Brian, Maple, Grandma and Grandpa, everyone was gone, dead, crushed because of Trespasser. She's running and hiding, a bag of stolen food in her arms, and she's cold and police sirens ring out but she's never caught. Her foster family hates her and ignores her, she's too much trouble and she knows it but she can't help it, she misses them so damn much. She's finally accepted into the Academy and she can finally avenge her fallen family. Her new co-pilot, he's such a dick she hates him –_

 _Kei is smiling at her before he leans down to kiss her, and she loves him loves him so much._

 _He's training in a dojo, Father showing him the katas that he needs to know for the championships this week. Mother is making him miso soup and onigiri's after a long day of training. Choosing to become a Jaeger pilot for what he deems the greater good, he can't forget the disappointment in Father's eyes as he turned his back to him and walked away, leaving him alone in the empty dojo with his black belt carefully folded in front of him. He leaves home and doesn't look back and after years and years of training he finally feels free, free from Father's dream for him. Yet, why doesn't he find a partner? Why is there no one drift compatible with him? Then, he finally meets his partner, but he hates her she's insufferable –_

 _Lori, she is so beautiful, and he can't help but watch her peaceful face as she sleeps, and oh god he loves her so much._

"Neural handshake, strong and holding sir."

Soon, Midnight Insurgent was sent into the ocean, its pilot's alert and their Jaeger ready.

* * *

 **Rendezvous with Death**

* * *

"Where the hell is this thing?"

Kei, frowning, took another look at the radar. "LOCCENT, we can't seem to find the Kaiju. Are you sure this was the location?"

"Its location was last seen –"

"Shit, watch out!" Lori shouted out.

Midnight Insurgent was almost too slow to raise it's arm as a Kaiju erupted from the ocean water's, faster than any kaiju to date. The Jaeger fell back into the ocean as the Kaiju screeched into the sky as the Jaeger stood back up, her arms raised in fighting stance.

Breathing heavily, Lori roared out, "Come get some of this, you fucking freak!"

Kei, used to her profanity and eccentric personality, slightly grinned before nodding his head. "Let's go!"

Midnight Insurgent began with a slight jog that evolved into a run as it collided with Raijin. With it's famous speed, she threw several heavy punches before deploying her kunai blades. "Deploy Kunai Blades!" She charged forward and raised her arms high above her head but before she could bring them down, Raijin, with its four arms, used two of them to block the hands and used the other two to grab the Jaeger.

Lifting her, the Kaiju threw her down into the water before slamming his four arms onto her chest. Several alarms began blaring throughout the Conn-Pod as the metal was bent through the sheer strength and weight behind the attack. Pushing the Kaiju away, the Jaeger quickly recovered as they lifted their arms above their heads in an x-like form, preventing the Kaiju from continuing his assault to crush the Jaeger.

"Kei, release the katana! I'll hold the arms so do it!" Lori growled out, still focused on keeping her arms raised.

"Hai!" Releasing his control over his left arm, he quickly pressed a few buttons to release the new weapon. "Katana, engaged."

"Let's hurry and end this," Kei growled out, receiving a nod from Lori in agreement.

Quickly returning to his position, Midnight Insurgent grabbed the hilt of their sword and pulled it out, and in one smooth motion brought it down onto Raijin. The monster noticed the new weapon at the last minute and tried to block it with its many arms, but failed, resulting in the heated katana to slice one completely off. Thankfully, it staggered several steps back as it screeched out in pain. "Ugh, gross," Lori muttered as she watched the arm fall into the ocean. However, her attention quickly returned to the Kaiju as it directed another roar towards the standing Jaeger. Sensing the intense hostility that wasn't there earlier, they positioned the sword towards where the Kaiju stood, tense with worry.

And with renewed strength and determination, Raijin shot forward, one of his three arms raised.

They successfully cut into the Kaiju's second arm but before the sword could successfully slice through it, Raijin grabbed the Jaeger's right side with one arm and with its other, grabbed Midnight Insurgent's right arm and _pulled_.

It pulled and pulled and pulled and the next thing Kei and Lori knew, they were screaming in pain as their precious Jaeger's arm was ripped clean off, the katana that had been in their right hand falling into the ocean. It was a burning pain like nothing they had ever felt before and the most affected had been Lori, as it had been her side of the Jaeger that the arm was ripped off. Kei was the first to recover while Lori continued screaming, tears streaming down her face from the complete _agony_ she was feeling.

"LOCCENT, we're hit! I repeat, we're hit!" he managed to say between the alarms and the continuing pain.

"Midnight Insurgent, get out of there _now!_ Backup is coming so get out of there!"

However, the two pilot's couldn't pay attention to what Marshal commanded as their mind was only preoccupied with staying safe, their fight or flight instincts overruling all cognitive thought for the time being. "Screw running away, we won't make it five feet before it catches up with us!" Lori, somewhat recovering from earlier and with adrenaline pumping throughout her body, turned to her partner. "What are we going to do?"

She was panting and in pain. Losing the Jaeger's right arm felt as if she had lost her own and the suit, whenever it rubbed against the fresh burn wounds, god – it was pure _lava_. Along with her arm, her entire body ached, and a treacherous part of her mind whispered, _we're losing_.

However, the moment she thought those words, Kei whirled towards her. "No, we're not. We need to...to use the blade in your arm and find some way to keep it busy until it–"

"K-Kei."

"The other Jaeger will be here soon so–"

"Kei, w-what is it doing?" Lori raised her hand and pointed to Raijin.

The two watched, dumbfounded, as the Kaiju picked up their fallen katana with something akin to curiosity as it began swinging it around.

"LOCCENT, a-are you seeing this?"

There was no response. The Jaeger team simply stood, alarms blaring, despite their instincts telling them to run.

The Kaiju's head suddenly whirled around to them and it threw the sword.

To Lori, she saw everything in slow motion. They both let out a sound of surprise as they tried moving the Jaeger's head to the side, and she didn't know why, but she found herself looking at Kei. He was staring at her with so much emotion in his eyes. She sensed his fear, his anger, his frustration, but what stood out to her most was the intense feeling of sorrow. At that second, she couldn't understand why he was.

Then, suddenly, he wasn't there. In a blink of an eye, her connection with him had been severed as the sword they tried to avoid sliced straight into the left side of the head.

His memories mixed with hers and his last thoughts were the only things on her mind. She screamed once more in agony, both from the physical pain and the mental pain.

"N-No no no _no!_ "

Pain, electricity, fire, that's all she felt it rushed throughout her body and no, Kei, where was he where was Kei he should have been here where is he why _is it so empty?!_

Lori's body became rigid as the Jaeger transferred full control to her. There was some sort of liquid dripping down her face and she wasn't sure if it was from her suit or if it was her blood, but either way, she knew she was screwed.

However, there was no time to panic – _she was thought there was no hiding that she's scared and oh God –_ and it was only a matter of time before the neural load of running a Jaeger by herself would overwhelm her, ultimately killing her and letting the Kaiju win.

She couldn't let that happen – not after Kei sacrificed his life.

Forcing her main control to the right, she grabbed the hilt of the katana and with all her strength, pulling it out of Midnight Insurgent. Her heart clenched in pain from everything she lost, not only did she lose a partner but she lost her Jaeger, but she didn't have the liberty to stop and cry, so she ignored the fact that her partner was gone, that he wasn't where he was supposed to be, that she wasn't controlling her own side but his, as well. No, she ignored that and as the Kaiju came bounding towards her, she raised the katana.

Lori roared, she roared in pain and for Kei, for her precious Jaeger, and brought the katana down –

* * *

 **Rendezvous with Death**

* * *

 **2024 – January 1  
** _Sydney, Australia_

"Hey Lori, are you free after this?"

" _No_ , Bob, I told you already to back off, remember?" The man scrunched up his face as if he was trying to remember. Seeing this, Lori scoffed as she returned to wiping her glass cups. "God, lay off the alcohol, you're going to get yourself killed."

Burping, the man simply glared at her before grabbing his drink and staggering off, leaving Lori to her own thoughts behind the bar counter.

Today was New Years and, unsurprisingly, the bar she worked at was full of people, making her glad that she was able to hide behind the dozens of glass cups and alcoholic beverages. Looking around, she couldn't help but shake her head at the craziness of everything – she was probably the only sober person here.

Returning back to her cups, she continued wiping them and lost herself in the motions for a few minutes until someone sat in front of her.

"Whiskey, neat," the man grumbled, his face hidden in his arms.

Lori placed the cup in her hand in front of him, an eyebrow raised in amusement. "Rough day?"

"Tell me about it." She grabbed the whiskey from the shelf and poured him what he requested.

"Well, holler if you need something." Seeing that there were more people now sitting along the counter, she turned her attention to them as the strange man disappeared from her thoughts.

About an hour later, she went back to throw away bags of trash when she heard sounds of grunting and cursing from deeper in the alley. At first, Lori thought it was just some horny teenagers – which wouldn't have been the first time she dealt with some – but narrowing her eyes, they adjusted to the darkness and she saw a group of men.

"If you just did ya damn _job_ , my wife 'n kids would be alive."

"Well, mate, you try fighting –"

Adrenaline immediately rushed through her as she heard the sound of a punch, quickly followed by a sound of a body hitting a wall. She didn't hesitate to rush forward to stop the fight, knowing through experience that it would not end well.

"Leave the guy alone," Lori said, catching all of the men's attention. "He's beaten up enough as it is."

The largest man here, who stood at least a good half a foot taller than her, scoffed before turning to her. "If you know what's good for ya, I'd walk your pretty ass out of here."

" _Oh my god_ ," Lori muttered to herself. For the first time in days, she found herself smiling, despite the situation she was it. "You think my ass is pretty?" she couldn't help asking.

"...Excuse me?"

"You _did_ just complement my ass, or did you forget under all the alcohol you drank?" Lori inched nearer to the groaning body as she kept the men distracted.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"What –"

One of the men suddenly grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks. She looked at the meaty hand, her eye twitching as anger now began flooding her system.

 _Deep breaths Lori, deep breaths_.

"Oh look, now the little girl is scared–"

"Get your damn hand _off_ me," she growled out, still not looking up. At this point, her hands balled into fists, itching to hit someone.

"Or what? You'll punch me?" The men all around snickered. "I highly doubt –"

In a flash, Lori ripped her arm out of his grip and threw a punch to his nose. His eyes wide, the pudgy man staggered a few steps back until he fell down onto his ass, knocked out.

"Yeah, I will." She whirled back around towards the two remaining men and saw that they were furious and annoyed with what just occurred.

"I was going to let you go free since you're a girl but...nah, you need someone to teach you a lesson."

Brushing a hand through her hair, she began laughing at the sheer audacity of the men before her. Did they really think they could beat her?

"I'd like to see you two bozos try."

The smaller man on the right rushed forward, his arm raised high for a punch, but Lori was able to trip him and kick his ass, knocking him out as well. Now left alone with the man that had confronted her earlier, she grinned. He seemed uneasy at first, but for some reason, he, too, ran forward. However, unlike the other men, he seemed to have some sort of basic knowledge of fighting and avoided her punch, his own fist colliding with her face as the impact threw her head to the side.

Pain flared throughout Lori's cheek and taking a step back, she spat out the blood that poured into her mouth from biting her tongue the moment he hit her. "Did...did you just…?"

"Fuck _yeah_ I did, you little bitch," he spat at her.

Lori, slowly turning her head back at him, glared at him from behind her bangs. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy _this_."

And within seconds, the fight was over, leaving her alone with the victim earlier.

Needing to calm her nerves down, she took several deep breaths as she regained her composure. "Hey, dude, you okay?" she asked, kneeling down to the fallen man. He made some sort of incoherent sound and she was unable to understand him. "Oi, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong. You're a big guy – I can't carry you out of here myself." Narrowing her eyes, she realized why the man seemed so familiar – it was the same guy that had ordered the whiskey earlier who was having a bad day. "...Dude?" She poked him and waited for a response.

Hearing nothing in return, she sighed. She would need to turn him over to see just how bad he was beaten up. Placing her hands on his side, with all her strength, she pushed and rolled him to his side. The moment she did, though, she fell backward and crawled away in shock, her back hitting the wall of the alleyway. Her eyes were wide as she began breathing heavily, acting as if she had just seen the devil

And to her, the man may have been the same thing.

Because staring at her, unconscious at her feet, was no other than the Jaeger pilot, Chuck Hansen.

* * *

 **Rendezvous with Death – End**

* * *

 **A/N** : _Well...I fell into the hellhole that is my mind. I've been obsessed with Pacific Rim since the moment it hit theaters and after rewatching the movie about a month ago, this idea for a story hit me like a freight train. I've always wanted to write something for Pacific Rim but I just...never got around to it because I was kinda intimidated, for a lack of a better word._

 _I hope you enjoyed this! I know there are some similarities between her and Raleigh's story but I promise you, they're totally different. I don't want to spoil anything so I can't say what these differences are but I hope you don't give up on the story just yet!_

 _Until next time, please review! The more reviews and constructive criticism I get, the quicker I tend to write because I get enthusiastic about uploading for you guys!_

 _So_ _ **review**_ _!_

 _~IntoTheDeep27_


	2. Chapter 2

_Summary_ : A former Jaeger pilot, Lori Henderson's rage was akin to a hurricane―ready to destroy anything and anyone in its path. No one could save her, not even herself. Yet...Chuck Hansen did. Out of all people to do so, he saved her by holding on. With his own anger, he gave Lori enough hope to rise up and step back into her Jaeger―because if the world was ending, she would die fighting. OC-Insert, Chuck/OC

* * *

 **"It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone."**

 _Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy_

* * *

Disclaimer: _I don't own Pacific Rim, only any original characters._

* * *

 _ **The Hurricane  
02**_ _: Unconsciousness_

"Shit shit shit _shit_ ," Lori muttered to herself, her eyes never wavering from the unconscious body in front of her.

For the past two years, she had done everything possible to stay away from the Jaeger program and those associated with it. She wanted to forget, to leave her past where it was – in the past.

Yes, Lori knew that her scars – both physical and mental – would not let her forget all that had happened, but doing what she did right now, hiding out in a shitty bar in Australia, was the closest thing to being able to drown out the pain.

She heard a groan, bringing her out of her upset thoughts. "Fuck, I can't just leave you down here…" She stood up and took an uneasy step towards Chuck. "Hey," she called out, hoping – _more like praying_ – that he would respond.

Sadly, there was none.

"You've got to be _kidding_ me," she groaned. She would have to drag him back inside the bar –

Her phone suddenly rang, causing Lori to jump at her own ringtone. Quickly reading the name on the screen, she answered the call. "...Yeah?"

There was a loud crash somewhere in the background before Lori heard Leonard, her boss. "Don't come back in, Chris just came in for his shift."

Despite being alone, she narrowed her eyes and stared at the back entrance to the bar. "...I _know_ that voice, what really happened?"

She heard various shouts from the background of the call again and this time, those sounds could also be heard, in-person, from the bar from where she stood.

"Chris actually did come in for his shift but...there's a fight happenin' and I don't think it's a good idea to come back in."

Unknowingly, Lori had closed her eyes and massaged the bridge of her nose. "Leonard, you _know_ I can hold my own in a fight."

She heard him laugh before he suddenly shouted out, clearly to the unruly customers, "You break the damn table, you're fucking payin' for it, Bob!" Lori simply stood for a few seconds before her boss returned to the call, his voice revealing how tired he was. "Like I said, just...enjoy the rest of the night. You're young, go have some fun or somethin'. Just...don't get in trouble, okay?"

Lori simply grumbled a quiet yes before she said her goodbyes, and a few seconds later, she found herself staring at Chuck once more.

"...Well, it sure as hell ain't fun but it _is_ something. Let's just hope you're not as much trouble as the tabloids say you are, Chuck."

Taking a deep breath and reassessing her current situation, Lori came to a decision. She would take him to a hospital. She would...drop him off before anyone noticed who she brought had with her. She didn't need her face on the news with some bullshit story about how she knew Chuck. It wouldn't take long for the media to actually realize who she was, as well, if she was caught bringing in _the_ Chuck Hansen. So...she would hand him off to some nurse and book it out of the emergency room as quickly as she could.

Despite the situation, she couldn't help but snort at that thought.

After dialing a phone number to call for a taxi, Lori used all of her strength to hoist Chuck onto her back in the standard fireman's carry. Sure, her arms were screaming in pain from the weight, but she'd manage.

"You seriously need to lose some weight," Lori complained as she glared at the face uncomfortably next to hers.

A few minutes later, she found herself pushing Chuck into the back of the cab as she sat next to him. "Take us to the hospital –"

A hand suddenly grabbed her and she quickly whirled around. "N-No...no hospital…" Lori saw Chuck staring at her with lidded eyes, his voice slurring from what was a mixture of alcohol and probably pain. "Take me...home."

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Home?" Oh, did she want to strangle him. "Boy, I don't even know where you live!"

"No...hospital…" Suddenly, Chuck's eyes rolled back and he was once again, unconscious.

The taxi driver stayed silent for a few seconds, staring at Chuck. "Isn't he –"

Already knowing what he was going to say, Lori held a hand up as she felt a headache forming. "No, he's not. Just...take me home."

Fifteen minutes later, after smacking Chuck once more and glaring the driver with as much hate as she could muster – because she was having a shitty day and the driver didn't help with his constant looks – Lori found herself sprawled across the floor of her living room, Chuck snoring above her on her couch.

God, all she wanted to do was shower now. She was sweaty, she was tired, and she smelled like cigarettes.

...Yup, she was taking one. Screw the strange man in her house, there was no way he'd wake up with that injury. She already tried everything she knew to wake someone up and he remained unconscious.

He was gone for the night.

Taking one last look at Chuck, she turned around and opened the door to her bathroom. She didn't take long in the shower – her time in the Jaeger program saw to that – and when she walked out, she saw Chuck in the exact same position as earlier.

Feeling slightly sorry for him, Lori grabbed a spare blanket and covered him with it.

Then, placing her hand on the doorknob to her own bedroom, she said her goodbyes to the present and entered the room that held the nightmares that would soon plague her dreams.

* * *

 **Unconsciousness**

* * *

Lori woke up to sounds of groaning and a loud sound, followed by a groan and a, " _what the fuck?"_

She had almost forgotten about her unconscious guest in the other room. Quickly pushing the covers off, she stood up and stretched – only for the door to her room open unexpectedly.

"Hey–"

Lori's froze as her eyes locked on Chuck's, her arms still raised. Her shirt rode up, revealing her stomach, and because she was wearing shorts, it revealed her long legs.

Chuck, however, couldn't help _but_ stare, although not for the usual reasons. Instead of his usual ogling of women – _a bad habit, he knew that –_ he stood there, frozen, because of the series of scars he saw. Raised lines raced across her body and for some reason, he couldn't help but think them familiar.

"Uh…I didn't – I'm sorry – I-I just – w-what happened last –"

Blinking, Lori was brought out of her stupor at his incoherent babble. She just grabbed the nearest thing she could see, ignoring his questions, and threw it as hard as she could at his face. "Get out of my room!" A pillow hit him directly on his face and taken aback, he staggered into the living room as Lori slammed her door, closing it in his face. Chuck, who was now more confused than anything, ran his hand through his hair while taking a seat on the couch once more.

Did he…? No, he wasn't _that_ drunk, he'd remember if he slept with her. And besides, the way his jaw hurt, along with the way he couldn't open his right eye, meant that he had gotten into a fight with someone.

Maybe...with her?

No, that didn't make sense – if he had gotten into a fight with her, he wouldn't be in what he presumed her home.

 _Fuck_ , just who the hell was she?

It didn't take very long for the strange woman to come out of the room and this time, she was fully clothed and seething in what he could tell was anger.

He quickly stood up from his seat and tried apologizing. "Sorry, I didn't mean to barge in –"

"You should be freaking glad that I didn't leave you in that alleyway," she growled.

His brows raised at her accent – American. "...Alleyway?"

She crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned on her right leg. "Do you even remember what happened to you last night?" she asked with less annoyance in her voice.

Now that he thought about it, her face _was_ familiar – she was the girl at the bar. "Um...you're that bartender, right?" _Hopefully._ She didn't answer him and walked over to her kitchen, rustling around in the freezer. He slowly moved closer to her, sitting down in the high seat behind the counter in the kitchen. "Did I get into a fight with someone?" Chuck heard a snort before a bag of beans were suddenly thrown to him. He caught them, staring at the frozen vegetables as his mind was blank for a few seconds. The woman stared at the bag, alongside him, as his brain refused to catch onto what she was offering.

"...Shit, do you have a concussion?" The girl asked as she pointed to the bag. "Because –"

Shaking his head as his mind quickly cleared, Chuck placed the peas against his eye before muttering, "No, I'm fine. I just blanked out for a second."

Narrowing her eyes, the American said, "I'm pretty sure that's a sign of one."

"It's fine."

She nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders before pulling out two mug cups. "If you say so – I'm sure you can take care of yourself."

At this point, Chuck was leaning onto his arm on the counter with his hand pressing the frozen peas against his black eye. "I'm Chuck."

"I know." She purses her lips before raising an eyebrow at his face. "Do you _really_ think I don't know who you are? Your face is plastered all over the TV, nowadays."

For once, the Australian felt embarrassed at his newfound fame as a Jaeger pilot. "What's your name?" He figured asking her name was a quick way to change the subject - something he wanted. He didn't mind the fame most of the time – yet, the look he was receiving from the woman across from him made him feel small because it seemed being a Jaeger pilot – _something that usually made the girls go wild_ – didn't faze her at all.

She seemed to think for a second as she poured instant coffee into the cups, and after remaining silent for a few moments, she introduced herself. "Lori." Handing him a cup, she lifted her own mug to her lips as he took the offered coffee.

"No last name?"

"I don't know you," was all she said before motioning to him. "Anyways, you've got to be busy doing whatever the hell it is you do every day, so when you're done with the coffee, feel free to leave."

That was how the morning ended – with Chuck thanking the strange American woman half an hour later outside of her apartment, the swelling in his eye having gone down. And as he walked down the hall, he took one last look at Lori before shaking his head and walking away – something about her was familiar, he just couldn't put his finger on why.

* * *

 **Hurricane - End**

* * *

 **A/N:** _Sorry for the rushed ending and short chapter, but after a month of not updating, I thought, "fuck it," and ended it where it was._

 _My computer broke! Which made me so sad because I couldn't write for this past month as a result – I was lucky that I had most of this chapter, as short as it may be, written it out. I'm typing this on my phone and I tried to make it longer, but I'm one of those people who can't really...write stories on a small keyboard that you tend to find on phones._

 _Anyways, thank you guys so much for the follows and favorites. I was not expecting these many people to read it – so once again, thanks. You guys make me so happy! I just hope that this chapter isn't bad._

 _Well, don't forget to follow or fav., if you haven't already! Also, please leave a review!_

 _Until next time~_


	3. Chapter 3

_Summary_ : A former Jaeger pilot, Lori Henderson's rage was akin to a hurricane―ready to destroy anything and anyone in its path. No one could save her, not even herself. Yet...Chuck Hansen did. Out of all people to do so, he saved her by holding on. With his own anger, he gave Lori enough hope to rise up and step back into her Jaeger―because if the world was ending, she would die fighting. OC-Insert, Chuck/OC

* * *

 **"But, when the days of golden dreams had perished,  
And even Despair was powerless to destroy,  
Then did I learn how existence could be cherished,  
Strengthened, and fed without the aid of joy.**

 **Then did I check the tears of useless passion–  
Weaned my young soul from yearning after thine;  
Sternly denied its burning wish to hasten  
Down to that tomb already more than mine.**

 **And, even yet, I dare not let it languish,  
Dare not indulge in memory's rapturous pain;  
Once drinking deep of that divinest anguish,  
How could I seek the empty world again?"**

 _Remembrance_ , Emily Brontë

* * *

Disclaimer: _I don't own Pacific Rim, only any original characters._

* * *

 _ **The Hurricane  
03**_ _: Remembrance_

* * *

 **2024 – January 08  
** _Sydney, Australia_

"Lori?"

Looking up, she tensed before sighing and loosened the grip she had on the glass. "Hi, Chuck. How's that black eye?"

"...It's fine. But that's not why I'm here – I wanted to thank you."

Raising an eyebrow, she looked at him as she continued wiping the glass clean. "...Okay?"

"Yeah."

She stared at him as he continued sitting across from her, a conflicted look on his face. She stayed where she was, looking at him through her peripheral vision until she suddenly slammed a hand on the counter in front of him, bringing him out of his thoughts. "You look constipated and it's bad for business – what's wrong? What do you want? Do you want to say something more about last week?"

"Have we met before?"

For a split second, she froze before forcing a smile on her face. "No, I don't think so." Hopefully, he wouldn't remember seeing her two years ago when...when she fought off Raijin. "Is that it?"

"Are you…" He opened his mouth to say something but he suddenly shook his head before pointing to a bottle behind her. "Actually, no, nevermind. I'll just have a whiskey, neat."

Scoffing, she pulled away and grabbed the bottle before placing a glass in front of him. "Here –"

"–Lori, turn up the volume! There's been another Kaiju attack!" Her hand on the bottle slipped at her boss' sudden shout and Chuck, with his quick thinking, grabbed it by placing his hand over hers. Lori, feeling a hand on hers, quickly pulled away, her calm demeanor suddenly changing at the sudden news. She pulled out the remote that Leonard kept under the counter and did what he asked as people began crowding around the television. The air was tense in the bar and as Lori saw where the attack was taking place, her breath left her.

A Category IV in Tokyo, Japan.

She quickly turned her face away from the screen and gulped, her heart racing and hands feeling clammy. The bar suddenly began to feel suffocating and she found it hard to breathe – she needed to leave, _now_.

As she shakily wiped her hands on her jeans, she accidentally met her eyes with Chuck's, but she ignored his questioning look and rushed out of the bar, the scars along her body aching with phantom pain. Slamming the door open, the cool air and the moonlight did little to calm her anxiety. The walls around her were spinning as she couldn't breathe – _she couldn't breathe, damn it!_

"Lori?" Whirling around, she saw Chuck watching her as he closed the door behind him. "You okay?"

Shaking her head, she turned back to look at the wall as she muttered, "I'm fine so just...leave me alone."

He was silent for a while to the point where she thought he left, until suddenly, he said, "You were lying, earlier. I knew you looked familiar – I saw you two years ago when I fought a Kaju off Tokyo Bay. You were the pilot for Midnight Insurgent, weren't you?" Slowly turning around, she began to breath harder. "Those scars you have, they're from piloting that Jaeger all by yourself."

Placing a hand against her eyes, she muttered to herself, " _Fuck_ , I guess you joined the Academy at sixteen with your brains and not just looks." With a deep breath, she reopened her eyes and tried to gauge his mood. "So, what do you want?" she managed to say. "Yeah, I was the pilot for Midnight. You and your dad were the team that came in and saved me. So, _what?_ Are you gonna rub it in my face that I failed? That I'm a shitty pilot?"

If only he knew the thoughts that went rampant in her mind every day. Those types of thoughts, the pure _guilt_ she had, they were a daily ordeal for her. It was also no secret that Chuck thought negatively about former Ranger's like her – his various interviews on the news told her all she needed to know about how he probably felt about her.

Chuck simply shook his head, his nose slightly scrunched. "No. I'm just here to say thanks for last week." Yet, even though he didn't say anything afterward, she couldn't help but see the condescending look he gave her. Before she could say anything, though, he turned around and walked back into the bar.

By the time Lori went back into the building, the battle between the Kaju and the Japanese Jaeger was finished, and Chuck was nowhere to be found.

* * *

 **Remembrance**

* * *

 _ **The Next Day**_

Lori was kneeling behind the counter as she was cleaning up the bottle she had dropped earlier. Leonard had been in a good mood, though, and simply waved it off and simply asked her clean it up without pulling the price of the bottle from her paycheck. She had been placing the glass in a garbage bag when she heard the door to the bar open with its telltale sound of a bell.

"We're closed!" she yelled out, standing up. She brushed her hands against her jeans, her back to the door.

"Even for me?" At the deep voice, her eyes widened as she froze, her body going cold. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Lori?"

She slowly turned and saw the man – standing before her was no other than Herc Hansen, the Jaeger Pilot for Striker Eureka. With a sudden urge to cry, she staggered into the counter, the edge digging into her back as she gripped it hard enough for her knuckles to turn white. She shook her head in denial as she refused to look at him in the eyes.

She couldn't cry here, not in front of Herc and sure as hell not in front of Leonard – it had happened once before when she first started working here, and she vowed to both him and herself that she would never do it again.

"So this is where you've been hidin' for the past year and a half." With her eyes turned on the ceiling, she remained silent. She couldn't say anything because she knew if she saw the older man – _the man who had always believed in her, even at the Academy when she didn't believe in herself_ – she wouldn't be able to contain her emotions. The Ranger...he was the closest thing to a father figure she had since her own died, all those years ago.

Herc gave Lori the space she needed, though, and allowed her to initiate the conversation first. "W-What…what are you doing here?" she managed to ask, her voice thick with emotion.

Sitting down in front of her, he said, "Well, I heard from my idiot of a son that a former Jaeger pilot was here – and not just some pilot, no, the pilot of Midnight Insurgent, so I had to check it out." She gulped and remained still for a few more seconds – she wasn't ready but steeling herself, she turned her head down and looked at the older man.

When their eyes met and she saw the warm smile he was giving her, she burst into tears.

* * *

 **2018 – August 28  
** _Kodiak Island, Alaska_

Out of the 16 cadets that started last year, only half remained, and Lori was stubborn enough to be one of those cadets.

"I heard that _the_ Hercules Hansen is coming in today," she heard Andrew say from the bunk next to her.

Not looking up from her book, she asked, "For what?"

"I dunno. Something about how they were looking for someone? I didn't really get to hear everything 'cause the Ranger Marshal was talking to looked over at me."

At this, she raised an eyebrow, finally diverting her attention away from her book. "A Ranger? Was it Hercules?"

Andrew frowned, his eyebrows scrunching in thought. "No, I think his name was Takahata if I read his name tag right."

At the foreign name, she nodded her head. "Japanese, probably. I don't think I've heard the name before though – he's not on the active ranger roster Commander gave us a month ago."

He jumped off his bed before placing his face on his hands, resting them on her upper bunk, the steel frame squeaking under the new weight. "Maybe."

Looking at the time, Lori closed her book and playfully hit Andrew on the forehead with the novel. It was almost eight, which meant curfew.

"Lights out!"

Sighing, everyone went to their beds and a few seconds later, the light in the room was cut, plunging everyone into darkness. A few minutes passed before Lori pushed her covers off and quietly jumped down onto the ground, catching the attention of her friend.

"Are you sneaking out again?" He was leaning on his arm as he shook his head. "You're going to get caught."

Shrugging her shoulders, she smirked. "But that's only if I'm caught." She knew that most of her fellow cadets condoned her actions but they never really paid her any attention, thankfully.

After successfully leaving the room and sneaking around in the halls, she found the usual ladder she used to climb to the roof. She had found it by accident, and at the time she was curious so she climbed it. She then found a hatch that led to an opening in the roof and since that day, she would sneak out whenever she was feeling overwhelmed with the program.

She may have tried hard to get into it, but that didn't mean she lived and breathed by the program. She needed her breaks, as little as they were.

Finally reaching the hatch, Lori turned the handle and pushed it open, relishing in the sudden flush of the cool air. However, her joy was cut short as her heart dropped when she saw another pair of eyes staring at her from above. She nearly slipped but she held on, gulping, as she said, "S-Sir."

Herc Hansen was looking down at her, his face not revealing how funny he found this to be. He simply motioned for her and as she fully climbed onto the roof, he was careful to not let his amusement to bleed into his voice. "What are you doing, Cadet? Isn't it past curfew?" he growled.

Lori had her face turned down as they both stood, the wind rushing all around them. "...Yes, sir." She had her arms resting behind her back as she stood in front of the Ranger.

"So, what are you doing?"

"I…" After a few seconds of silence, she said the truth. "I wanted to breathe and I found this place a few months ago. I didn't think anyone knew about it," she added, "Sir."

"I should report your disobedience to the Marshal here."

At this, Lori vigorously shook her head, her eyes meeting with his. If he reported her, all her hard work, her dream of revenge – they would go down the drain. She would get kicked out – and with nowhere to go? She had to say something, _anything_ , to change his mind. " _Please_ , sir–"

"–But I won't."

At this, her eyes widened as she looked at him with disbelief for a few seconds, her brain short-circuiting. All the excuses she was trying to come up with disappeared as she saw the stern look he had melt into amusement. He sat down, motioning for her to do the same. "W-Wait...you won't?" she asked, remaining in her standing position.

"You heard me – unless you _want_ me to?"

"N-No sir, thank you very much. I promise to never sneak out again."

Herc shook his head with laughter as he tapped the ground next to him. "Sit, I don't bite." Lori hesitated but not wanting to push her luck, listened to him and sat down, her body still tense. "I know how you feel, believe me. I was constantly comin' up here as a Cadet, thinking about my kid. He's around the same age as you, I'm guessing." He suddenly chuckled, his eyes slightly gazing over as he remembered his own child. "You remind me of him – maybe that's why I'm talking to you right now."

Maybe that's why he was being a little soft around her.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Permission granted."

Lori was fiddling with her fingers but she couldn't help but feel comfortable and open around him – a feeling she hadn't felt in such a long time. Was it okay, to tell him all of her thoughts? Her experiences with adults weren't the greatest as they never truly...connected with her, never really tried to get to know her. But something about Herc was...she didn't really know, there were no words. Besides, what more did she have to lose? His patience with her? _Puh-lease_ , after this week, she was sure that she'd never see him again.

At least, as a cadet, anyways.

Taking a deep breath, she began, "I tried really hard to get into the program but sometimes, it becomes overwhelming when I see everything I've strived for become a reality. Sometimes…"

"You need a break?"

"Yes, sir. I know I'm not the best and hell, sometimes, I'm surprised I've made it this far. I know half of the remaining cadets think I'm worthless and...I don't know, maybe they're right." She saw the condescending look on most of their faces. The only people who treated her fairly were Andrew and Jazmine – everyone else didn't really like her. She never understood why – she had a _stellar_ personality if you asked her. "I haven't met anyone that I'm fully Drift Compatible with yet and I can't help but think that it's a sign."

Lori heard him sigh, prompting her to look at him. She saw aged eyes looking at her – they were eyes that reminded her heavily of her late father. They held wisdom and warmth she had yet to see anyone look at her with, and it caused a lump to form in her throat. "That kinda thinking'll get you kicked out. You won't pass the final tests and you sure as hell won't become a Ranger, and that's why you're here, right? You're not here to fail – you're here to pass and save the world, Miss Henderson."

Herc watched the girl look at him with unease and while she seemed innocent enough, her eyes told a different story. They were dark and while she tried to hide her pain, he saw through the facade. His own son was like her, hiding behind his own anger, and that was the only reason why he knew she was lying.

Herc also knew that she had a rough upbringing from reading her file. She had been jumping from foster home to foster home, switching schools from one place to another. Yet, there was this fire in her that he had only seen a few times in the program, like with the Becket brothers – particularly Raleigh – who graduated two months ago. Their kid sister was...more passive but still held the energy the two older brothers had.

"Unless that's not why you're here." Lori opened her mouth but quickly closed it, her face revealing the conflict within her.

"...It is, sir," she whispered a few seconds later.

 _Aha_ , the lie. She wasn't here to just save the world – no, she was here to avenge those she's lost. Her eyes told the same story his own idiot son had. Usually, he would've told the girl to leave then, because that mentality would not only get herself killed but her future partner as well. Yet, something about her was keeping those words at bay, which Herc didn't quite understand why. He saw Lori's test scores – they weren't the best, but they weren't the worst. She was average at best, so why was he hesitating? From the corner of his eye, he saw Lori fiddling with her hands, but her face shifted from uncertainty to confidence. At this, he couldn't help but smile.

She reminded him of Chuck – the headstrong idiot would've _hated_ Lori if he met her.

"Have more faith in yourself, girl, cause you're goin' places."

Because he was here to help Kei Takahata find a Drift Compatible partner, and Herc couldn't help but think that their search was over.

* * *

 **2019 – October 06  
** _Tokyo Shatterdome, Japan_

"Lori!"

The Jaeger pilot whirled around with her new partner when a smile erupted on her face. "Mr. Hansen!" She jogged up to him, ignoring the sounds of frustration from the scientist who was adjusting her drivesuit.

"I told you to call me Herc – you're makin' me feel old."

She laughed. "And you should know that I won't call you by your name." The smile slowly disappeared, though, as she looked at him with confusion. "Not that I don't want you here, but why _are_ you here? I thought you were still at the Sydney Shatterdome."

"I was but, well, I'm without a Jaeger for a few more months." Chuck would be graduating soon and by the time his son became a pilot, the Mark V, Striker Eureka, would be ready for deployment.

"I heard about your brother...for what it's worth, I'm sorry."

Herc waved his hand nonchalantly, his voice revealing his disappointment – but surprisingly enough, there was no sadness in it. "It was only a matter of time before the dumbass got in trouble." His brother, Scott, was a pain to deal with and after that Category 3 almost killed them, Herc knew that he had to go, especially after what he saw.

Seeing Kei Takahata running up to him, he waved and greeted the Japanese Ranger. Kei bowed as he said, "Hansen-san, it is a pleasure to meet you again."

At his English, Herc raised an eyebrow. "Damn boy, your English sounds a lot better than last time." He narrowed his eyes and saw the way the two younger pilots stood around each other... "So I guess the Drift is helping with your English?"

And more, it seemed. The annoyance he saw in them last year was gone, replaced with a look a content. They were comfortable with each other, to the point where Herc _knew_ something else was going on between them.

"Ah, hai." The boy bowed his head, a sheepish look on his face. "Lori is helping very much in teaching me English, as well."

At this, he nodded his head and turned to Lori. He gave her a knowing look before saying, "Well, make sure you two be _safe_ , you hear me?"

Lori turned bright red as she became flustered. " _M-Mr. Hansen!_ " Turning away, he raised a hand in goodbye as a laugh left his mouth.

The girl...she was lighter, happier, and it made him happy to see the darkness in her eyes gone.

* * *

 **2022 – June 08  
** _U.S. Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan_

Over the years, Herc Hansen saw Lori about five more times, but they communicated quite a lot through email, as old as it was. She never complained, though, and simply laughed whenever he brought up the fact that email was a dying art.

At least she had stopped calling him, _Mr. Hansen_. It was a compromise but after years and years of pressure, she got rid of the _Mr_ and simply called him by his last name.

"Why are we even here?"

His son's voice brought him out of his thoughts. Herc walked down the hall of the U.S. Armed Forces hospital, doctors and nurses flying past him, as Chuck followed behind. "We're here to see a friend."

The young boy scoffed as they stopped before two armed military personnel. " _Your_ friend, not mine. I'll be out here waitin' for you then, old man."

Groaning, Herc said, "Stop _calling_ me that."

There was no response and as his son pulled out his phone, he showed the guards his pass before walking into the hospital room.

With his heart heavy, he sat in the empty seat next to the hospital bed, where Lori laid, unconscious. He saw through her gown that her entire right side had been bandaged, along with her right eye. There were cuts and bruises all over her body and while the heart monitor continued its beeping, it did little to ease the tightness in Herc's chest.

"...Hansen?"

His eyes flew up and saw that Lori was looking at him with half-dazed eyes. She was still high on the painkillers and not fully aware of her surroundings, he noticed, when she looked at him with confusion. Her sclera was red, a telltale sign of solo-piloting, as many of the blood vessels in her eyes had ruptured during her fight with Raijin.

Standing up, he placed a hand on hers as he said, "I'll go get a doctor–"

But he didn't even get to turn around, as she grabbed his hand with a speed that surprised him. She was injured, but there was a sense of urgency in her that allowed her to grab him as easily as she did. "W-Where...where is he?" she managed to croak out, her voice gravelly with days of no use.

He flinched at the question and tried to divert her attention away from that topic. "You're heavily injured; I think we need to get a doctor first–"

"– _Where is Kei?!_ "

Her heart monitor began beeping faster as she became for agitated. Herc tried his best to calm her down but there was no use because his lack of an answer was enough for her – she became nearly hysteric and as doctors and nurses began rushing into the room, he heard her screams of pain and anguish. He quickly left the room after being pushed out by the nurse, the feeling of failure heavy on his mind. The door slammed on his face but it only did so much to muffle her cries; he could still hear her sobs from behind the hospital door as the doctors tried their best to calm her down.

The doctors had to be careful with her – not only had she been injured from the destruction of Midnight, she had lost her partner and piloted her Jaeger alone until backup had arrived. The neural load she had to carry...he only knew of two people who endured the loss of their partner and fought off a Kaju, and they both didn't leave that Conn-Pod without lasting effects. Pentecost was now a Marshal, but could never fight in a Jaeger, while Raleigh left the PPDC and remained hidden from the world.

When Striker Eureka had arrived – luckily, it had been in the Tokyo Shatterdome for repairs after fighting a Kaiju earlier that month off the coast of the Philippines – Midnight Insurgent was barely standing on its feet. There was a large hole in the head and all Yet, the Kaju had been heavily injured as well – Lori had done enough and Striker Eureka was able to kill it quickly.

"Are you blaming yourself?"

Turning to the side, Chuck was looking at him from above his phone. "Excuse me?"

"You're blamin' yourself, aren't you? I know you, I understand how you think, old man." Herc scoffed as Chuck turned his attention back to his phone. "It ain't your fault – it's theirs for not being able to fend off that Kaiju."

" _Boy_ –"

Chuck suddenly stood up and pocketed the device. "Well, while you sit here and mope, I'm gonna go look around. See ya."

He watched Chuck's back slowly disappear down the hall, his words ringing in Herc's mind. No matter what he did or said, he could never connect with his own kid. He tried for years – _and he continued to try_ – but they were just so different.

Sitting down where Chuck had sat, Herc let the back of his head fall against the wall and closed his eyes.

* * *

 **Remembrance - End**

* * *

 **A/N:** _I know it cuts off a little, but I hope it's okay. Anyways, I was really excited for this chapter because it gave a little more background on Lori's history and her experiences. I was wary, at first, bring Herc into the story this quickly, but I hope their relationship makes sense! If not, I'll gladly explain it and/or go into more :)_

 _Also, I spend all day writing and rewriting and I was finally happy with this outcome, so if you see any mistakes please forgive me. I tried editing it to the best of my ability._

 _Anyways, please leave a review and don't forget to follow/fav. if you haven't already!_

 _Until next time!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Summary_ : A former Jaeger pilot, Lori Henderson's rage was akin to a hurricane―ready to destroy anything and anyone in its path. No one could save her, not even herself. Yet...Chuck Hansen did. Out of all people to do so, he saved her by holding on. With his own anger, he gave Lori enough hope to rise up and step back into her Jaeger―because if the world was ending, she would die fighting. OC-Insert, Chuck/OC

* * *

 **Quick A/N:** _Please pay attention to the dates! The main story as a whole begins an entire year before the events of the first Pacific Rim, which is the year_ _2025_ _. My story takes place in the year_ _2024_ _unless stated otherwise!_

* * *

 **"Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?"  
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent  
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need  
Either man's work or His own gifts. Who best  
Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best. His state  
Is kingly: thousands at His bidding speed  
And post o'er land and ocean without rest;  
They also serve who only stand and wait."**

 _When I Consider How My Light Is Spent,_ John Milton

* * *

Disclaimer: _I don't own Pacific Rim, only any original characters._

* * *

 _ **The Hurricane  
04**_ _: How my Light is Spent_

Lori sat next to Herc, feeling exhausted. Leonard had seen what had happened and luckily, the bar was closed, so he told her to just lock up when she finished.

She held a glass of water she would take sips from when she turned to Herc. "I'm sorry for cutting contact with you," she apologized, her voice still raw from her crying.

Herc brought a corner of his mouth back as he nodded. "I understand why you did it – believe me, I do."

"It still doesn't mean it was the right thing to do." She had been in a bad place at the time and thought that cutting him out of her life was the best course of action. "...I _am_ better now, though."

They remained silent for a while, both of them nursing the drinks in their hands.

The news in the background was mostly background noise, but when it began talking about the failures of the Jaeger program, Lori couldn't help but turn around. Immediately, she sneered when she saw the person being interviewed – Lars Gottlieb, an avid supporter of the Wall of Life, despite being one of the original creators of the Jaeger Program.

Seeing the segment on the television and the overwhelming bias against the Jaeger Program was getting, she turned to Herc and saw him watching it with an identical look on his face alongside her. "So...it's that bad?" she asked, pointing to the news. "I've heard rumors of the Jaeger Program being defunded but…"

Chuck nodded his head, a look of anger in his eyes. "Yeah. All those idiots in their fancy suits think that the damn _Wall of Life_ is gonna save us all." He drank the entire glass of whiskey in one gulp before continuing. "The name sounds like a sappy Hallmark movie if you ask me."

Laughing, Lori took her own whiskey in hand and drank it. "Well, you're not wrong."

Silence passed between them before he turned to her and quietly asked, "How have you been?"

Ah, the million dollar question. She knew it was inevitable but...it still hurt, hearing his name. "It's been rough, I'm not going to lie. Hell, I'm pretty sure Chuck told you about my little panic attack yesterday. That's pretty much what happens whenever I get...triggered, for the lack of a better word."

"You could've contacted me – hell, even an email would've worked. Wait...do you still _use_ email?"

She snickered at this before her smile left at her next words. "I wanted to but...I just, I couldn't be around Jaegers anymore. They asked if I wanted to find a new partner to pilot another one but Midnight was the only one for me. I couldn't step foot in another Jaeger – the amount of guilt, the PTSD, I just...couldn't."

Herc nodded his head as he swirled the whiskey in his hands. "...Raleigh said the same thing, after his brother."

"Hansen...I just, I want to say that I'm sorry." Lori stood up and turned to him, a sad smile on her face. "You helped me so much, staying with me when I had to go through rehabilitation and counseling – I'm sorry I just up and left."

Chuckling, the older man pulled the girl into a hug. "Don't be sorry. People do strange things when they're grieving, and that was your way of coping with your loss." He pulled back and smiled at Lori. "Just, don't be a stranger next time, alright?" She simply laughed before returning to the hug.

It was warm, and for the first time in a while, Lori felt like she'd be alright.

She soon said her goodbyes to the man, promises of seeing each other soon made. Life for her returned to normal after that, with her still maintaining her position as a bartender and staying in her average apartment. She never saw Chuck after that fight, but his father, she saw quite a lot. Herc came in whenever he had time and on some days, he'd stay and talk with Lori for hours and hours on end.

Lori was happy for the first time in a while. There was no dark cloud hanging above her, oppressing her. She still had her bad days, that didn't change, but as a whole, she was a healthier person. Life was good to her, and she was drunk on the high of it.

She soon was forced to come down from it when she saw Chuck two months later.

* * *

 **How my Light is Spent**

* * *

It was around ten at night and Lori happened to walk past a bar the moment a body was thrown out of its doors.

"Don't you _ever_ come back, you hear me?"

The crumpled body in front of her groaned before yelling out, "Why the fuck would I want to come back to this shitty place?" The large man by the door sneered before returning back to the bar, leaving Lori alone with the man.

There was an overwhelming sense of deja vu but she ignored it as she watched the groaning man. "Uh...sir? She kneeled down and placed a hand on his shoulder, asking, "Are you okay? Do you want me to call a taxi for you?"

At her voice, the body stilled for a second before turning around. "Lori?" Chuck slurred, his eyes not really focusing on her.

Seeing the man, Lori ripped her hand away before scoffing, standing back up. "Why is it that every time I see you, you're _drunk_?" she growled out, sounding very different from a second earlier as the temptation to kick him the first thing she wanted to do. "I'm surprised Hansen lets you do this!"

Chuck finally stood up – albeit, he was uneasy on his feet and could barely walk straight – before muttering, "Because every time you see me, it's a fucking weekend. I'm sorry for wantin' to enjoy my shitty ass weekends, unlike you."

She narrowed her eyes, placing her hands on her hips. "Whatever, _Charles_. I'll see you around–" Eyes widening, she shot forward as Chuck began stumbling backward. " _Hey_!"

Chuck brushed her hands off, sneering at her. "I'm fucking _fine_."

"Yeah, you sure seem fine despite not being able to stay freakin' still." Pulling out her phone, she looked at the time before sighing. "Do you have any money left? I'll call a taxi for you."

Chuck stared at her before patting his pockets. "Huh, that's weird...I can't find my wallet."

"...Of course, why does it not surprise me that you got mugged too?" Grumbling, she turned her phone back on before scrolling down her contacts, stopping at _Hansen_. She was about to hold up the phone to her ear when Chuck suddenly turned white as a sheet. Knowing what was going to happen, on instinct, she quickly jumped back and barely missed the puke that almost splashed on her shoes. Chuck, on the other hand, remained where he was, kneeling on the sidewalk while groaning. Flinching at the smell, she tried to call Herc once more, but no one picked up.

...Fuck.

"This is really January all over again, I hope you know that." Knowing she couldn't leave the pilot alone, she grabbed his arm and placed it on her shoulders, lifting him up. He was still somewhat coherent and could still stay on his feet, unlike last time, which allowed her to lead him away from the puke and the bar that caused him to get this drunk. Looking around, she tried asking, "Do you live around here?"

Chuck looked at her before muttering with half-lidded eyes, "I live in the Shatterdome."

At this, Lori was not surprised, yet she found herself stopping in her tracks. The large building itself wasn't far – it was fairly close. It was the fact that she would have to help him _to_ the place because she had no money and Chuck had none too.

While it was tempting to leave Chuck here to rot in his own filth, Lori knew that wasn't the right thing – her conscience was telling her to help him. Hefting his weight onto her shoulder, she began the dreaded journey to the Shatterdome.

After thirty minutes of walking – _when it should have been a quick, fifteen-minute journey_ – they finally reached the gate of the Shatterdome. Lori's steps felt heavy and as they reached the I.D. check-gate, she was planning an excuse to explain her presence but it seemed that Chuck was enough. They simply allowed her into the base, much to her surprise.

Out of their earshot, she muttered, "The security sure has loosened up." The last time she had been here, the I.D. checks had been such a pain in her ass that at one point, when she accidentally left the Shatterdome without her I.D. and tried coming back on base, they wouldn't let her take one step in it until Marshal had to come down.

"People are loosin' faith in the program, cause of pilots like you." At these words, Lori stopped for a few seconds, and despite his current predicament, she straightened her back and pushed Chuck away from her. She then proceeded to slap him, the sound of her hand hitting his cheek a slight comfort to her.

"Your dumbass should be happy that I even brought you back here, you ungrateful little _shit_ ," she spat out. "Yeah, I did fail, but I don't need some show off to tell me that when I still have the fucking scars to prove it. I still did my job to the best of my _fucking_ abilities, Charles."

Chuck glared at Lori at the mention of his name. "Well, you didn't try _enough_ , now did ya?" He finally stood straight, slightly sober, although he still was unsteady on his feet.

"You know what?" She jabbed a finger into his chest, causing him to stumble back. "What the _hell_ is your problem with me? All you ever do is criticize me – I never asked for your damn opinion!" she yelled.

She watched as his eye twitched before he pointed at her, his anger clear despite the haze of the alcohol. "It's 'cause of people like _you_ that I might be out of a fucking job next year!" he yelled in return, taking a few steps forward.

Taken aback, her anger shifted to guilt as the words on the tip of her tongue melted away. There it was – another consequence of her failure. If it meant that he would be out of a job, that meant the handful of Jaeger pilots would be too – and all because of pilots like her. With her chest heavy, she forced all the anger she could muster – which wasn't a lot – before growling, "Before you blame someone else for your problems, look in a fucking mirror, you asshole."

She whirled around and began walking away, only to hear Chuck from behind her mutter a quiet, _oh shit_ , before the sounds of puke hitting concrete started, stopping her in her tracks. As his puking continued for a few more seconds, the temptation to leave him was strong in her but ignoring it, she whirled back around and watched as Chuck tried, and failed, to regain his composure. Letting out a growl of frustration, Lori went over to him and while he made a sound of protest when she grabbed his arm, she ignored it and pulled him up.

She was already here, mind as well finish what she had started.

Not so gently, this time, she began dragging Chuck towards the location he was somewhat directing her in. After a few more stops along the way, she finally reached the doors that were familiar to her, as it was identical to the ones in all Shatterdomes.

She had flashbacks of going through the doors in Tokyo for the first and last time, but before her memories began drowning her, she forced herself to breathe before asking Chuck for the code to get into the Shatterdome. It was a struggle and she nearly hit the young boy, but he was able to punch in the code and open the door.

"Can you get back to your room from here?" she asked.

"I...think so." He groaned before placing a hand on his eyes. "Wait, where are we?"

" _Fucking_ – if I take you to the rooms, you'll probably know how to get to your own bed." The fatigue of supporting a person larger than herself was beginning to bleed into her muscles, much to her dismay. But she steeled herself and continued helping Chuck, passing by several looks of shock from the various workers. She could hear the whispers from behind her but she clenched her jaw and continued on her way, stopping only at the elevators. Hoping that her memory wasn't failing her, she helped Chuck into the transport and pressed a button. "This is where we say our goodbye, Charles!" Lori happily said.

She got no response but she didn't care – she simply waved at the still drunk man, leaving only when the doors closed.

"... _Finally._ "

Turning around, she went back down the path she came from, the thought of sleeping in her bed the only thing on her mind. Yet, halfway from the exit, she stopped when she felt a large gust of wind from her right. She looked down the hall to the exit, but it was too far to be able to determine where it led. Yet, her curiosity got the best of her, and she walked down it, the pull too great.

Something was amiss, though, and she soon realized why. After walking for a few seconds, she saw what she could not see earlier, and a quiet cry left her mouth – she wanted to turn back around and run the moment she saw the large hanger, but her legs betrayed her and continued down the hall. It opened into a large hanger hundreds of feet high as it held the three Jaegers stationed in the Sydney Shatterdome.

Lori was not prepared to see the large machines and when she saw Striker Eureka, she collapsed onto the rails in front of her, as her mind went blank, her last memories of being in a Jaeger playing itself in her mind.

Midnight's hull had been compromised and she saw the broad daylight shining through it, along with the Kaiju she had been fighting. The neural load was causing excruciating pain all throughout her body, but she remembered that the only she cared about was the fact that Kei had sacrificed his life to protect the city, and that she would do the same. After fighting Raijin for what felt like hours, her Jaeger nearly breaking apart, she saw Striker Eureka being flown in.

And that was that – she passed out and woke up in a hospital days later, with no Kei and no Jaeger.

Lori, finally returning to her senses, shakily took a deep breath as she continued to stare at the beautiful machines that were the only things standing between humanity and the Kaju – not that Wall of Life bullshit the politicians along the Pacific Rim pushed for.

Seeing the Jaegers made Lori feel something she hadn't felt in a long time, a stirring in her stomach that she felt years and years ago when she first...stepped foot into a Jaeger.

"Lori? What are you doin' here?" Whirling around, she saw Herc staring at her with a towel in his hand.

"I…" After taking another look at the Jaeger, she said, "I helped Chuck back here after running into him. Um, he was drunk, and I figured that I couldn't leave him alone."

"Oh." Herc walked over to her and leaned on the rail, staring at his Jaeger. "Thanks, I guess. I can't really get a read on that boy – he refuses to open up to me."

"It's fine." Tentatively placing her hands on the rails, she took in the three Jaegers. "I didn't realize how much I missed being around Jaegers until, well, now."

"You caught the bug again?"

Chuckling, she nodded her head. "You could say that again." Motioning to the Mark V, she asked, "How does it feel, walking around in her?"

"Striker?" Herc had a smile that all pilots had when asked about their Jaegers – because to them, the Jaegers weren't just...machines, they were family. It was the Jaegers that protected the pilots and sometimes, it almost felt as if they were even alive, alongside the Rangers that piloted them. "I can't explain it – she's one of a kind."

"Yeah...Midnight was the same." There was a nostalgic smile on her face as she recalled fond memories of training and the successful fights. Caught in her own world, Lori didn't hear Herc continuing their conversation until she caught what he said at the end.

"...don't you come back?"

Lori was taken by surprise and openly stared at the older man. "What?"

"Come back." She shook her head in refusal and Herc seemed to have known what she would say, but he pushed further. "I think you've been hiding for enough, Lori."

"I-I can't."

"I understand you don't want to step foot in a Jaeger, and that's okay, you don't have to do that." He grabbed her shoulders and looked at her in the eyes. "But you know a lot about them and that inside knowledge can help. And you remember Jazmine Becket, right? She's stationed here too." Trying to comfort her, he gave her a small smile. "Small steps, Lori. You can help with the newbies."

"I…" Turning to the Jaegers to her left, she gulped. "I don't know, Hansen."

"I think it might help close a chapter in your life. I know you might not _want_ that chapter to finish but to move on, to heal that open wound...at least think about it, would you?"

* * *

 **How my Light is Spent**

* * *

Leonard looked at her before sighing, slamming a washcloth in front of her. "What's troublin' you?"

"Nothing–"

"Don't give me that bullshit, I know that look you got on your face. I've seen it enough on myself – so what's wrong?"

Frowning, Lori surrendered to his questions. "You know about my time in the PPDC, right?"

"Yeah, I can't forget it even if I wanted to."

"Well...Herc Hansen wants to go help with the newbies at the Shatterdome." Leonard's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I don't think–"

"No."

"What?"

"Girl, I've seen you workin' here for the past two years, and all that time I've been holding my tongue, but I think it's time I told you what I've been wanting to say for the past year." Leonard forced her to sit down before he continued. "Take the job. You won't be goin' anywhere, workin' here. You have the skill set that could help so many other people – why can't you see that? _Ah –_ before you say anythin' about your accident, I want you to know somethin'." Pulling up his leg, she knew what was coming. She saw the various scars along his leg. "I was in the Army before all that Kaiju shit hit the fan and I nearly lost my leg in the war. I struggled and to get myself back on my two feet. I knew that I could never to be the person that I was before – that was impossible, I was a changed man. I had my troubles that still continue to this day, but I don't let it bring me down, not anymore. I don't regret my actions because they saved my comrades – just like you saved the world God knows how many times."

"Leonard…"

"No, girl, listen to me. I'd give my heart and soul to be able to serve again and you have that chance to do that! I'm not sayin' that you have to become a Pilot again, I understand why you don't want to. All I'm sayin' is that don't sit on this opportunity to help not only the people but yourself." Smiling, he lightly punched her on her shoulder. "I know you better than ya think."

There was an uncomfortable smile on the American's face, but not taking the advice Leonard gave her lightly, she began to think about the future.

Maybe...maybe helping wouldn't be so bad, right?

* * *

 **How my Light is Spent – End**

* * *

 **A/N** : _Hi! I finally got a new computer and the first thing I did was to start working on all the stories that I'm behind in – which is a lot._

 _I don't know why I do this to myself._

 _Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!_ _ **Please review!**_ _They motivate me and I want to make sure that I'm not progressing in the story too quickly._

 _See ya next time!_


	5. Chapter 5

_Summary_ : A former Jaeger pilot, Lori Henderson's rage was akin to a hurricane―ready to destroy anything and anyone in its path. No one could save her, not even herself. Yet...Chuck Hansen did. Out of all people to do so, he saved her by holding on. With his own anger, he gave Lori enough hope to rise up and step back into her Jaeger―because if the world was ending, she would die fighting. OC-Insert, Chuck/OC

* * *

" **I wandered lonely as a cloud  
** **That floats on high o'er vales and hills,  
** **When all at once I saw a crowd,  
** **A host, of golden daffodils;  
** **Beside the lake, beneath the trees,  
** **Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.**

 **Continuous as the stars that shine  
** **And twinkle on the milky way,  
** **They stretched in never-ending line  
** **Along the margin of a bay:  
** **Ten thousand saw I at a glance,  
** **Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.** "

 _I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud_ , William Wordsworth

* * *

Disclaimer: _I don't own Pacific Rim, only any original characters._

* * *

 _ **The Hurricane  
05**_ _: Attacks_

...What the _hell_ was she doing here? This was definitely a bad idea – she should have never listened to Leonard.

"You're Lori Henderson, right?"

Blinking, Lori pushed her thoughts and unease away for another time before answering the guard by the gate. "Um, yes, that would be me."

"Here are your new ID's, you'll need them to come to and from the Shatterdome." The lady in front of her pushed some more papers into her hands and with the sudden influx of files, Lori nearly dropped the bag that she was barely keeping in her hand. "Don't forget the code to the door and don't go where you're not supposed to. Ranger Herc Hansen has requested your presence at the Kwoon Combat Room once you are settled. Will you need an escort?"

"I…" Lori was feeling overwhelmed but thinking about, well, _everything that was wrong with her life_ was going to get her nowhere. Looking at the receptionist in front of her, Lori simply shook her head and gave the lady her thanks. "No, I know where the room is."

After placing her belongings into a nearby locker which had been designated for her, she let her memory of the layout – _hoping it was the same –_ take over of the last time she had been in the Sydney Shatterdome. She was in luck – her memory had not failed her. She found herself a few minutes later in front of the Kwoon Combat Room, the sounds of various people fighting echoing in the hallway she stood in. There was no door, which was not uncommon, and as people trickled in and out of the room, the smell of sweat wafted over her. It was a smell that, while she was used to, she did not miss – although, there _was_ a part of her that did miss this room as a whole. This feeling had been dormant within her since the accident, but seeing and hearing the fights happening in front of her had awakened a part of her that had actually enjoyed the fighting and practice. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her body, a feeling that was reminiscent of the _good 'ol days_.

It was different here, a typical dojo was missing something that the Kwoon Combat Room had.

"Lori!"

From the corner of the room, she saw Herc waving at her. Closing the distance, she quickly caught up to the older man. "Hey," she greeted in return.

"I didn't think you'd come," he drawled, a smile adorning his face.

His enthusiasm was contagious and cocking an eyebrow, she couldn't help return a smile. "You _did_ request that I meet you here – of course I'd come."

"Now _that_ is very true." He grinned, crossing his arms over his chest. "So, when was the last time you fought?"

At the sudden question, she looked at Herc with disbelief. "You've gotta be kidding me – this is what you meant about wanting to meet me? I'm not fighting –"

"Aww, c'mon!" Against her will, he pushed her in the direction he came in, towards a group of what she deemed the new recruits. "You can start with the beginners again."

"...I've been practicing, Hansen!"

"Oh really? Why do I have such a hard time belivin' you?"

" _Oh my god–_ " Lori gave him an exasperated look as he stared at her with blatant disbelief in his eyes. "I have been! I've been going to a nearby dojo–"

"Yeah _yeah_ , I hear you and I don't care." Ignoring her protests, he suddenly turned to the group. "Alright, here she is lads! Her name's Lori, and she'll be joining us for today." He winked at all the recruits before saying, "Go easy on her – she's may be a little rusty." This resulted in a variety of snickers from all around her, embarrassing Lori even more.

As she watched Herc go through various stretches to warm them all up, she followed suit with the students and found a place towards the back. After a series of stretches, Herc announced from the front, "Alright, now find a partner to spar with. We won't be testing compatibility for now – that'll be next week!"

As everyone began to partner together, a hand closed around Lori's arm, turning her towards...Chuck. Her stomach fell as the annoyance in his eyes made her feel uneasy.

"Dad wants to see if you've really been practicing like you said you were."

"And what? He wants me to fight with you?" Ripping her arm out of his grasp, she matched his angry glare with one of her own. "Why the hell should I do that? Last I recalled, we weren't on speaking terms, _Charles_."

At his name, Chuck sneered, but he kept his mouth closed because Herc began walking towards them, sensing the tense air between the two.

"Chuck, Lori, I want to see you two in the ring."

" _Excuse me?_ " Lori shook her head. "I thought you wanted me to get used to the feel of the Shatterdome!"

With a cheery voice that made her want to punch the older Hansen, he said, "This'll help."

"I highly doubt that," she muttered but with the look Herc was giving her, she knew that there was no going against his wishes. Begrudgingly, she shot Chuck one last dirty glare before dragging her feet to the _conveniently_ open mat in the middle of the Combat Room.

"The rules are simple–"

Lori zoned out for a few seconds as she tried to settle her racing heart. With the large wooden staff in her hands, she began to remember the feel and weight of the weapon. It was a weapon that, without being too modest, Lori liked to believe she was good at.

"Begin!"

With both hands, she kept the staff balanced as she and Chuck walked around the edges of the circle. Knowing that he would make the first move, she stayed on the defense – and within a second of this thought, in a quick flash, she had blocked a hit towards her face. She returned his blow with one of her own and just as she had predicted, he blocked it as well.

Throughout the entire match, which lasted only for a few minutes, she realized just out of shape she truly was. Sure, she may have been going to a local dojo and taking classes or doing her own thing, but as she fought Chuck, she saw hints of stances she had never seen before. Yet, it surprisingly did not upset her. It proved to her that the times were moving past her, that the better the newer Jaeger Pilots were, the better chance they had of protecting humans.

They circled each other in a deadly dance to a song that only sung for them. It went back and forth, one never truly overpowering the other. As they both remained on the defense, Lori saw a small opening that she took with no hesitation, rushing forward. Yet, in a turn of events, Chuck had seen his mistake and locked their staffs together. With an intensity she had never felt before, they glared each other, neither of them yielding to the other. Their arms shook behind the power between the two as sweat dripped down from their bodies.

"All right, _all right_ , I've seen enough!" Their eyes broke contact for a short second before he looked back at her – and what she saw nearly left her breathless. Something must have shown on her face because, with a sound of disdain, he sneered at her before pulling away, the end of his staff falling against the mat.

"Lori?"

Gulping, she shook her head and took a step back, her chest heaving as she tried to catch up on her breathing. "Y-Yeah, Hansen?"

"I guess you weren't lying when you said that you've been practicing."

Rolling her eyes, she forced a playful grin as she walked over to Herc, not forgetting to bow before leaving the mat. "And y-you didn't believe m-me." From the corner of her eye, she saw Chuck walking away, his body tense despite the fight that had just happened.

The rest of the day passed in a blur and the next thing Lori knew, she was sitting on her couch with a cup of iced coffee in her hands. Although the television was on, the noise it made barely comprehended in her mind as all she could think about – now that her hectic day was over – was the way Chuck had looked at her.

That moment she had looked at him, she saw _so much_ anger and hatred – she had felt like she had been looking at her past self. Herc had told her about why Chuck could never forgive him for what had happened to Angela – his wife and Chuck's mother – and so Lori understood to a certain extent.

After Kei had been killed, she was _angry_ – she hated everything and everyone. Not only did she blame the world, but she had blamed herself, and over time that had slowly killed something within her. Two years had passed since his death and while the pain never got better, she learned to cope – for a lack of a better word – with the fact that she would never see him again. And...and she was okay with it, now. Some days, it may have seemed as if she wasn't fine with it, but with time, the pain of his loss was slowly becoming bearable.

She took one last sip of her coffee before standing up and calling it a night.

* * *

 **Attacks**

* * *

"Order for Lori?"

"Here!"

Lori walked over to the Starbucks counter with a hand on her cup when the first alarm went off, freezing everyone in the room. That's when –

"Lori?"

Whirling around was a struggle with the mass chaos that ensued at the first sound of the Kaiju alarm but when she did, she saw a pair of familiar eyes looking down at her. "Chuck? What the hell?" Yet, before either of them could take a single step, the roars of fighter jets and helicopters carrying a large Jaeger blew all around them despite being in the store. "Why are you here?" she managed to yell in midst of the screaming.

"I'm on break!" He looked around for a few seconds before pointing to the door. "We gotta go – there aren't any shelters near here for a couple of blocks!"

With the screaming all around them, she could barely hear Chuck, but despite whatever bad blood there was between the two before today, at this moment there was none. It was life or death and the two Jaeger Pilots were smart and mature enough not to fight over trivial things.

He didn't say anything as he grabbed her and began pulling them towards the back exit – not only was the front exit packed with people trying to exit at the same time, the number of bodies out front was guaranteed to slow them down.

As they ran down alleyways and roads, Chuck was on his phone speaking to someone. It didn't take Lori long to realize it was his father on the other line, wondering where he was. "I'm still in the city. What? No, I'm too far from the Shatterdome. I'm – I'm with Lori." Despite the chaos all around them, even she could hear the sudden shout of surprise, causing Chuck to wince. "It was a coincidence – you know what? It ain't the time or place right now, I'll tell you later!" With that, he hung up on Herc and proceeded to push them forward into the underground path toward the bunkers. The initial adrenaline passed a minute later and as she was trying to calm her racing heart, the anxiety of her current situation came onto her in a full blast.

Lori hated crowds. She hated them with a passion and in this exact moment, there was nothing more she wanted to do but run back home because, well, there were bodies pressed all around her – and, not to mention, she was _flat_ against Chuck's chest with no space between them.

"Could you move a little?" she heard him grumble behind her but she only sneered, not truly able to think properly.

"If I had room, do you really think we'd be in this situation?" she retorted sarcastically, her voice shaking. "'Cause I totally love being smack-dab on your chest."

"It ain't the time for–"

"For what? My bitchiness?"

"Actually _, yes,_ " he hissed.

"Well, Chuck, I got nothing better to do for the next half hour–"

However, the two of them weren't able to continue their banter as the room all around them shook with the fighting that was happening above them. Almost as if a switch had been flipped, all the screaming and yelling around her fell silent as the tension in the bunker was now so thick, Lori could've cut through it with a knife.

 _Deep breaths_ , she thought to herself, remembering what the psychologist had told her after Tokyo. Yet, with the constant moving of bodies around her and the ungodly heat from a lack of ventilation was making it _very_ hard for her to concentrate. The roars and the shaking of the bunker did not help her whatsoever, either.

"Hey, Lori, focus on m voice." Chuck's voice was right now to her ear, making her slightly jump. "You're okay here – you're safe."

"I-I can't–"

" _Breathe_. You gotta breathe. I know it's hard but it's okay."

Her breaths were coming out in quiet gasps when Chuck started to just...talk. "You know, I'm on break right now and I just wanted to go to a bar and get some drinks. This time, I won't bring my wallet – I learned the hard way last time. God, that was a fuckin' disaster, wasn't it?" A small smile escaped as she continued listening to him. "Hell, _I_ was a fuckin' disaster. I know I need to control my drinkin' more when I'm out but sometimes, I just wanna feel that buzz." And...Chuck continued rambling. He talked about what his plans were for the rest of his break and what his hobbies were – Lori couldn't even believe it when he told her he had a bulldog.

Although it felt like forever, a few minutes later the doors to the bunker opened as the citywide sirens were shut off. Chuck, with a gentle hand on her shoulder, led them out of the hoard of people around them and stopped them at the closest bench.

Lori was thankful for Chuck, she truly was. She forgot just how comforting another presence was during her anxiety attacks – albeit, a man she now disliked less than before. As the minutes ticked by, the two sat in silence until she muttered a quiet, "Thanks."

"...No problem," he responded with a gruff voice. "Attacks are terrifying."

She shook her head. "It's not–"

"I know. I'm not talking about the Kaiju attacks." He turned to her, one arm resting along the back of the bench while another rested on his leg. "I know."

With a grim smile, she met his eyes with her own. "...Thank you, though." She was glad he understood what she had meant.

They stared at each other, only for her to turn her head down as she stared at the sidewalk. She felt his body shift away from her until he stood in front of her. She saw the front of his shoes as he stood up and stretched. She kept her head bowed when suddenly, a hand was in front of her face. "I know we don't like each other but I think you owe me a drink after all this."

She couldn't turn her gaze away from his hand.

Something about this moment felt...different. She could make a choice here that she knew would change the way her relationship with Chuck would end. Did she take the hand and his offer? Or did she decline and go back home? Looking up, she saw him looking down at her as his eyes were clouded with emotion, probably just like hers. She felt slight hesitation from herself – she wasn't good at doing something outside of her comfort zone and the hand extended to her right now would lead her towards unknown territory.

And in a span of a second, Chuck saw the answer in her eyes.

With a playful snort, Lori gently pushed his hand away and stood up. "I think we all need a drink today."

He would deny it, but she swore she saw a small smile on his face.

* * *

 **Attacks – End**


End file.
